The reward
by mazmi-winter
Summary: James tells Lily to meet him later that night for a reward which Lily accepts only to discover James in the arms of another. is it too late for Lily to admit to James she loves him, will she finally get her reward? crap summary but check it out.


**A/N: I'm not completely happy with this but it was begining to get on my nerves. it was supposet to be a one shot but i didnt write it in one sitting cause i kept getting pulled away to do other things :( but hope you like it. Thanks to everyone that reviewed 'things that go bump in the night' you inspired me to write more :)**

**Disclaimer: i dont own anything (but i wish i did)**

"Evaaans"

I groan and turn round. It's Potter a few feet away from me surrounded by a group of giggling girls. God what a way to ruin my day I think while my stomach does somersaults. I curse and pretend it's not happening. I take a deep breath before slowly muttering:

"Yes Potter?"

He smiles at me with his heart warming melting smile which makes the girls go weak at the knees, I think I'm going to be sick and not because its sickens me. He smiles for a couple of seconds more, each second longer I pray for him to stop and when he does I pray for his smile to return.

"McGonagall wanted me to give you this" He says handing over a parchment of paper.

I flick my eyes through the parchment before screwing it up and shoving it into my bag. I bring my eyes back up to where James casually waits with his hands shoved in his pockets and a smile on his lips. My cheeks begin to feel rather hot, so hot in fact I bet you could fry eggs on them. Why does he have this affect on me, I'm supposed to hate him not swoon every time he smiles at me. He hasn't moved, why he hasn't moved surely he needs to be somewhere. No he doesn't, it's a free period and like me is walking the grounds. I curse silently and pray he cannot read my thoughts.

"Um, thanks" I say awkwardly.

I turn to leave but he pulls me back, not with his hands but with his voice.

"What do I get in return?" He says grinning.

"W-What?" I stutter.

Crap that's very noticeable. I glance over at the other girls who are beginning to frown and talk amongst themselves. One of them, a blonde girl in ravenclaw smiles evilly before whispering to her friends. Now I regret ever opening my mouth. And while I'm battling my conscious battle within my mind James is just standing there grinning basking in the glory.

"What do I get in return" he says while walking towards me slowly.

The gap between us shrinks and shrinks until there is barely enough space between us. My heart slams against my chest as he smiles down upon me, not just with his mouth but with his eyes. I revert my eyes and rest them at my eye level, which just happens to be where his shirt opens a teeny bit to reveal a smooth body underneath. I quickly shoot my eyes up ignoring my flaming hot cheeks.

"I don't U-Understand" I manage to say, training my eyes to an area just above his eyebrows.

He leans in closer until I can feel his breath upon my face while his body lightly brushes against mine. My heart threatens to burst from the cage that binds it any second now. Someone please save me.

"I delivered your message, what do I get in return?"

His lips lightly brush my ear as he speaks to me, his voice deep and rich sends shivers down my spine. I want to run but I'm fixed to the spot. A crowd has gathered around us while the muttering has subsided, it cannot be for a good reason.

"Erm, d-do you want money?"

I pull away from him and rummage in my bag for money which I don't have. My hair falls down like a sheet in front of my eyes but my eyes stare upwards to catch the grin consuming his face. He lays just one hand upon my arm and I stop. I curse myself for being too weak.

"I was thinking more along the lines of something like this" he says before pulling me close to him. His hands cradle my face while his lips plant themselves upon mine. For the briefest of seconds that we kiss, with lips upon lips, and tongues dancing in mouths wanting to play with one another it's like heaven, all the fighting and arguing was worth this just one kiss, but just as quickly as it had come, it was over. My lips tingle from where his had been while my lip balm gone but not forgotten. A simple kiss isn't enough; I want him to kiss me forever with his arms wrapped around me so I feel safe. I want to taste him, I think I love him, I think I love James Potter.

I blink and pull myself back into reality, where James Potter is smirking at me. He knows, oh my god he knows I like him. Oh my god what do I do. As thoughts like these run through my mind, the silence grows increasingly. I open my mouth to say something but all that comes out are funny noises. What do you say to a kiss like that?

Luckily for me James breaks the silence. "Always a pleasure, Evans" he says before turning away. As he leaves his voice travels back "Meet me at the Astrometry tower tonight and you'll get a reward."

He walks away leaving me rooted to the spot, the kiss still playing in my mind.

The day takes so long to end it feels like one day has rolled into a week without me knowing. Lessons with James were like any other lesson; he would smile at me and ruffle his hair like nothing had happened. It annoyed me, while I could think of nothing else but his lips, a million girls lips were probably going around in his head. A sharp pain in my chest had me bent over in Charms, worrying my friends and the professor for that matter. A concerned look swept across James face but I tore my eyes away. Of course the pain was probably just indigestion or something; I had swallowed my lunch down fast.

Soon the velvety black sky came along with the diamond stars. The common room grew quiet with only a few people in it including myself and Alice. The marauders sat in their usual space by the fire, except there are only three of them. A search with my eyes but it doesn't take long, James is not there. I frown and the thought of him standing at the Astrometry tower waiting for me fills my head. Crap he's waiting for me, me and I'm still here!

I quickly place my books on the table and without a second glance head for the door. I feel eyes upon my protruding back as I leave but don't look round.

The walk up to the tower is long and tedious and I think of turning back around and going to sleep but the thought of James waiting for me helps me to continue. I can't believe I am risking detention for a man who a couple of months ago I hated. Well, I didn't actually hate him; he just got on my nerves. And ok I didn't need to be as horrible as I was, but if everyone knew the truth there would be a lot of "I told you so's". And liking him is bad, terribly bad. He's just going to like someone else when he's bored of me he will throw me away like a used teddy bear, surely?

Ok, I'm turning back. I do so, but a "meow" fills the silence. Crap its Mrs Norris. I panic and hide in a nearby broom cupboard, which turns out not to be a broom cupboard but the stairway to the tower. As quietly as possible I make my way up the stairs into the cold air of the night. The moon is shining down from its position in the sky and casting everything in a silvery glow. Two shadows are entwined with one another taking up most of the floor space. I peer around the door frame to where the shadows form bodies and clothes and hair, and space less bodies which are very intimate.

I gasp and the pain in my chest gets bigger and bigger. I turn to run, paying no attention to my name being called out, or any attention to the kissing couple. I tell myself not too, that it's not how it looks, but while "buts'" are filling my head at what it is or isn't, I haven't paid any attention to the stairs which I am about to descend. My foot catches and I fly to the bottom of the stairs at alarming speed.

I cover my face with my hands ready to protect myself from the stone landing of the staircase, ready for the pain I will be feeling any time soon, but it never comes. Instead an arm grabs me around the waist and reels me back to the top of the stairs.

"Lily, what the hell are you doing!?" James Potter cries.

I frown and match his tone with mine. "Me? What the hell are you doing? You tell me to meet you up here claiming I'll get a reward. And I do; only you find you in the arms of some girl kissing her. Was that the reward, for me to see you kissing someone else, just for you to prove you didn't like me in the first place?"

Tears well up in my eyes and before I can stop them they are pouring down my cheeks, Traitors. I look over at the girl who's fingering her lips and grinning to herself. I recognise the blonde hair and the gray eyes as one of the girls who surrounded James and me that morning.

"No Lily, that wasn't what it looked like. How can you say I don't like you, I've loved you since I first clapped eyes on you"

I scoff and cross my arms over my chest. "You can give up the act now _Potter_ your friends aren't around to applaud you."

A look of hurt sweeps across James face and he inches closer towards where I stand, but with every step he takes forward I take back.

"Lily, what..." He begins and then stops. He takes a couple of deep breaths before he speaks again.

"Your right, I never liked you."

Tears gush out of my eyes and stream down my already tear stained face. My bottom lip wobbles but I am determined not to cry in from of him. He doesn't love me, I knew he just wanted to bed me and then tell his friends. I can't believe I let him kiss me this morning, and I can't believe I fell for him. Stupid, stupid!

I take a few more steps back until my back collides with a wall. There's no were else left to turn and my chances of escaping past James is out of the question. I pray for thunder, rain or any kind of weather to get me out of the situation. He crosses the remaining space between us and places his hands either side of my head so all I can see is his face centimetres from mine and his muscular arms. His mouth moves and my eyes are suddenly drawn to his lips, those lips which are capable of heavenly kisses.

"I love you. I have done ever since that train journey seven years ago and will continue to do so for the rest of my life. You're like no other girl I have ever met Lily and no other girl compares to you. Every time I see you I want to hug you, or to kiss you or to simple just stare into your eyes."

I open my mouth to reply but James puts a finger to my lips.

"Your rejection cuts me deeply, so deeply that I drown a little every time I look into your eyes. Every time I have mustered up enough courage to approach you, you reject me and I drown a little more. And still after all those hurtful names you call me and all the things you do to me I still come back to you. It's because I love you, not just your looks and your body but your soul, your personality. I love the way you ramble about things when you get nervous. I love your fiery temper. I love how much you care; everything and everyone you care about you give them your heart. I even love the way you cry when your hearts broken. You may scoff and say its lies, but it's not Lily, I love you so much. You're the one thing in this world that I would do everything for. If you say jump, I would, if you told me to leave and never see you an again, I would. Girls like Katie come and go but you're the real thing Lily, my real thing."

I let out a breath that I had been holding during that long speech slowly and look into James eyes. A million questions pop into my head but I cannot say anything. I cannot even tell myself that its lies, because I now know it isn't lies. His eyes, oh my god, his eyes are crying. There swimming in tears waiting to burst from there barriers that contain them. I can see him struggling with all his might not to let the tears escape his eyes, but it's a battle he won't win. The longer the silence grows the more hurt shows upon his face. I now know what I've got to do.

I slowly reach a hand towards his eyes and stroke away a tear that has fallen onto his cheeks. He looks down at my hand and frowns but I pay no attention to the frown. Instead I lean in towards him and kiss the place where the tear had originally been. He flinches only slightly then awkwardly wraps his arms around me.

"Lily," he says in a wobbly voice. "I don't understand. Is this happening?"

I put a finger to his lips like he had done to me and smile with my own.

"It's happening" I say "it's finally happening"

I remove my finger and kiss his soft sweet lips for what feels like an eternity waiting for him to kiss me back. He does and I fall into his kisses and his strong arms as we kiss gently but with passion. His arms snake around my back and fall to my waist but we still kiss. Kisses mingle with tears as I cry for him. He breaks off the kiss to kiss away the tear and then finds my lips again. He hikes me up so my legs are wrapped around his waist and my back against the stone wall.

His kisses remove themselves from my lips and travel down the length of my neck, finding a soft spot which makes me tighten my legs. I mumble his name over and over again and wait for him to find my lips again. He does and kisses every time I mutter his name.

I only slightly hear the rumble in the distance but feel the droplets of rainwater upon my shoulders. I wished for thunder and thunder came. It doesn't matter now; rain doesn't matter when James Potter is kissing you. Neither does it matter that the rain is going straight through. All that matters is that James Potter is kissing me and I'm in heaven.

A meow echoes in the distance but we don't hear it, not until we hear the footsteps upon the staircase. We break apart from one another and freeze in silence, both of us having the urgency to laugh. I put a hand across my swollen lips to stifle the laughter erupting from it and James grins. I frown at him and stare at the door knob turning. Any second now we're going to get caught any second now Mr Filch is going to come through that door. Any second no-

James pulls me to him and drapes a cloak over our bodies just as the door swings outwards. I start to say something but James covers my moving lips with his own. We stay like that until Mr Filch retreats from the tower and down the staircase muttering as he goes, along with Mrs Norris. We wait a few minutes then break apart.

"James! What-"

I start to question him about the cloth but my eyes rest upon his shirt. His originally white shirt is soaked through and tanned body can be seen underneath. I blush and flick my eyes towards his. He's smiling; he must have seen me looking. But his eyes aren't locking with mine, he's looking elsewhere. I follow his eyes with my own and look down upon myself and gasp.

Bloody hell you can see everything, from my stomach to my tweety bird print bra, how sexy. I blush deeply and cross my arms across my chest.

"Nice Bra" he says before bursting out in laughter.

I slap his arm and he raises his arms in surrender.

"Ok, ok, I'm sorry. I won't look any more, I promise."

True to his word he doesn't his eyes never leave my face. We make our way back to the common room slowly while looking out for Mr Filch or Mrs Norris. No doubt our kiss will be all over Hogwarts tomorrow as Katie would have told all her friends.

"James," I say.

"Hmm?"

"What happened to Katie?"

He drags his eyes from mine for a moment or too lost in thought and then laughs.

"What what?"

James shrugs "I dunno I paid no attention to her, I was too busy with your lips."

I smack him playfully again and laugh.

"James, you probably really upset her"

He shrugs and turns a corner to the staircase. He brings his eyes back to mine and says "I don't care about Katie, Lily. She was jealous of the attention you had gotten and jumped on me before I could stop her. We had only been kissing a few seconds before you came up. That girl has got an iron grip. She should try out for the Quidditch team."

I laugh and entwine my fingers into his fingers. He looks down at our hands and smiles then looks into my eyes and smiles at me. We're officially a couple, and all it took was a few words.

"James, "

"Yes?" He says looking at me.

I smile "What was my reward?"

It's his turn to blush deeply. I frown at him and wait for him to say something. He doesn't but he does stop just below the staircase. He's silent for a few moments causing me to frown some more. God I'm going to get wrinkles. Finally he speaks.

"Oh, I kind of knew you liked me and thought that if I got you on your own you'd admit it. Your reward was admitting it to yourself, says Remus. And it worked, because you did admit to liking me."

I frown and smack him a little harder than playfully.

"Damn you James"

He chuckles a chuckle that rumbles through his body.

"Your reward was also for me to say I LOVE LILY EVANS!"

He screams the last bit and grins before tugging me along the rest of the corridor and up the stairs with Filch on our backs. We charge up the stairs and into the common room parting slightly for one more heavenly kiss before we go our separate ways. I smile before I clamper into bed. My reward was amazing, James Potter was finally mine. Although I'm annoyed at how easily I am won over, it doesn't matter because I finally like James. His and Remus idea was the thing I needed in order to say I loved him, and I do love him. I finally love James Potter, and he has always loved me. I grin and slip into dreams filled with James and me.

-End-

**A/N: Please R&R. i love your reviews :) :)**


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